Binder



May 13, 1941. SHNNER 2,242,185,

BINDER I Filed Nov. 29, 1938 Pa tented May 13, 1941 BINDER Isidore SpinnenChicago, 11]., assignor-to ,Plastic Binding Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application November 29, 1938, Serial No. 242,962 5 Claims. (01.281-21) This invention relates to binders, particularly binders of the type as shown in the patent to Douvry, No. 1,970,285. Binders of the above type comprise, in general, a comb-shaped structure of Celluloid, pyroxylin, or other thermo-plastic material, the teeth of which are curled and passed through aligned perforations in a stack of pages of a book, cards, or the like, as disclosed in the above referred to Douvry patent.

The material for forming the binders is first stamped, or cut, to form a comb comprising a continuous back portion from which extend a plurality of parallel fingers. The material is such that it becomes plastic when heated so that it may be formed to the desired shape. This shape is retained when the material cools.

When the teeth of the comb are inserted through the aligned perforations in the stack of pages to be bound, the back of the comb-like structure constitutes the means for holding the teeth together. Where the back is of considerablewidth it may interfere with the turning of the pages through an arc of 360, as may sometimes be desired. It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a binder of the above mentioned character wherein the back is so constructed as to avoid interference withsuch complete turning of the pages, as far as possible. This is accomplished, in one embodiment of the present invention, by turning or bending the back out of the circular or tubular position, into a position extending substantially radially of the binder. The back may extend inwardly of.the

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a view of an uncurled. comb and an arbor used for curling the same;

Figure '2 is a view taken at right angles to Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the comb curled around the arbor;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through the binder and a stack of pages of a bookbound thereby, said view being taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 5; l

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a stack of pages bound by the binder of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 andshowing the pages of the book in an alternate position;

Figure '7 is a view corresponding to Figure l and showing a comb of an alternate construction; T I Figure 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 and showing a bound stack of books held in place by the binder made from the comb of Figure 7.; and

Figure 9 is a view showing an alternate construction with the binder back bent radially outwardly. 1

Reference maynow be had more particularly to the construction illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and binder or it may project radially outwardly of the binder. The ends of the teeth of the curled comb may lie on the outside of the tubular binder when the back projects radially inwardly or, if desired, the back may be provided with slots through whichthe curled ends of the teeth extend so that the ends lie within the binder. If the back of the binder is bent to extend radially outwardly of the binder then the ends of the teeth may extend within the curled comb or, if the back is provided with slots, the ends of the teeth may be on the outside of the curled comb.

If desired the back of the comb need not be bent inwardly or outwardly. The back may be made quite narrow and the ends of-the curled teeth may be held in place by a, suitable adhesive or cement.

The attainment of the above and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing ing a part thereof.

form- 3; The blank I is formed of Celluloid, pyroxylin, or other resilient material whichywhenv heated,

becomes plastic and can be fanned to the desired shape and retains its thus formed shape upon cooling. Before being curled the blank is in the shape of a, comb having a continuous back portion 2 and a plurality of parallel fingers 3. The outer ends 4 of the fingers are curved, as indicated at 4. After the comb has been curled upon cooling, each finger being curled convolutely upon itself. The binder is of a material which, although plastic when heated, has sufilcient elasticity or resiliency at room temperature so that the fingers may be uncurled-to the flat position and upon being released resume the curled shape imparted thereto. A stack of paper, cards, or the like, with aligned perforations, may therefore be positioned so that when the fingers 3 recurl under their natural resiliency they pass through the perforations and thus bind the sheets together. Apparatus for performing this assembling operation is disclosed in the patent of Christian B. Nelson and Isidore Spinner, No. 2,108,136, issued February 15, 1938.

An arbor for use in curling the comb of Fig- It has-a narrow slot 8- an amount approximately equal to the thickness of the comb 2. To curl the comb 2 to the requisite shape the end of the comb is inserted in the slot 8 either before or after heating of the comb, the comb being heated to a temperature which may be of the order of 200 F. to 365 F., depende ing upon the thickness and quality of the material used. At that temperature the material-becomes quite plastic. It is, however, to be understood that substantially lower temperatures may be used and in some instances are preferable, depending upon the quality and thickness of the material. After the comb 2 has been heated to its requisite temperature the arbor is rolled on a flat supporting surface which is preferably hot to avoid sudden chilling of the material, until the comb assumes the position illustrated in Figure 3. While in this position the arbor with the comb thereon is rolled over a much cooler surface to cool the comb. It may then be removed a from the arbor by sliding the same lengthwise of the arbor. The slot 8 in. the arbor is of a depth substantially equal to the width of the back 2 of the comb so that the back fills the slot, and the teeth 3 conmience at that edge of the back which is at the outer edge of the slot '8. The forward end of each tooth overlaps the portion of the tooth adjacent the back by an amount approximately 90, as may be seen from Figure 3. The overlapping portion l3 of each tooth is of suflicient resiliency and exerts suflicient spring pres sure against the underlying portion of the tooth that is overlapped thereby to prevent accidental withdrawal of the pages bound by the binder. The material is of sufficient elasticity, after removal from the arbor 6, that the curled binder may be uncurled to a flat position and upon release of the same will resume the shape shown in Figure 3.

In Figures 4,5 and 6 I have shown a stack of pages l5 bound by the binder formed inthe above mentioned manner. The back 2, which 'is turned radially inwardly, points directly towards the center of the binding. As a result of this construction it is possible to turn the pages back to back from the position illustrated in Figure 5 to the position illustrated in Figure 6. The uppermost page I6 of Figure 5 and the lowermost page I the place where the teeth project from the back.

When the comb illustrated in Figure 7 is curled, the individual teeth are in the position illustrated in Figure 5, namely, with the ends of the teeth overlying the outside of the back portion. When the teeth are flexed back and are inserted into a stack of pages of a book and then permitted to;

recur], the'teeth are guided so that the end of each tooth enters the'rcorresponding slot associated with that tooth. 'To facilitate the movement of the. tooth into the slot the edge of the tooth is of somewhat lesser width than the rest of the tooth, as indicated at 22. The teeth in the curled binder thus lie on the inside of the binder.

In Figure 9 I have illustrated still another embodiment of the present invention formed of a comb! such as is illustrated in Figures 1 or 7. In this figure the back portion 25 is folded radially outwardly. of the binder rather than radially inwardly. The back 25, which corresponds to the back 2 of the binders previously described, thus projects between the pages of the book preferably, although not necessarily, at the center of the stack of pages. To manufacture the binder of Figure 9 the teeth of the comb may be curled without bending the back, the teeth being curled on the inside rather than on the outside of the back portion 25. Thereafter the back portion 25 may be bent back to the position illustrated in Figure 9 so that the back 25 extends along a radius of the binder but radially outwardly.

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes I have here shown and described a few preferred embodiments of my invention.

It is, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction here shown, the same being merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. What I consider new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a binder for insertion into a stack of sheets pro-,

to pass through the aligned perforations, the free end of each tooth extending beyond the back and in contact with the adjacent part of the loop along the same/curvature as the rest of the tooth and exerting a spring pressure against the part of the loop overlapped thereby to prevent accidental withdrawal of pages bound by the binder, each loop extending through an are greater than 360, said back projecting inwardly of the loops at a sharp angle to the circumference of the loops so as to lie within the loops and in a plane substantially parallel. to the plane of an adjacent sheet.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a binder for insertion into a stack of sheets provided with aligned perforations along one of their edges, said binder beingof plastic resilient material preformed to substantially the ultimate shape it is to have after complete insertion into the stack and including a back and a plurality of teeth integral with the back and extending from one longitudinal edge thereof, said back having aligned tooth-receiving slots therein, said teeth being curved to constitute a plurality of loops adapted to be flexed out of their normal positions for receiving the sheets between them and automatically recurled under their own resiliency to pass through the aligned perforations, the free end of each tooth extending-beyond the back and in contact with the adjacent part of the loop along the sam curvature as the'rest of the tooth, each loop extending through an are greater than 360", said back projecting so as to lie in a plan substantially parallel to the plane of an adjacent-sheet, and the free ends of the teeth extending through the slots in the back and held by the side of the slots against movement longitudinally of the binder, the teeth receiving slots being of a width substantially th same as the width of each tooth adjacent the back whereby each tooth may extend through the slot a variable amount and yet be held by the sides of the slot, and the variable length of the sheet holding part of each tooth being devoid of sharp corners.

3. A binder for a stack of sheets provided with aligned perforations along one of their edges, said binder including a back and a plurality of teeth integral-with the back and extending from one longitudinal edge thereof, said back having aligned tooth-receiving slots therein, said teeth being curved to constitute a plurality of loops for receiving the sheets between them, the free end of eachtooth extending beyond the back and in contact with the adjacent part of the loop along the same curvature as the rest of the tooth, each loop extending through an are greater than 360, and the free ends of the teeth extending through the slots in the back and held by the side of the slots against movement longitudinally of the binder, the tooth-receiving slots being of -a width substantially the same as the width of each tooth adjacent the back whereby each tooth may extend through the slot a variable amount and yet be held by the sides of the slot, and the variable length of the'sheet holding part of each tooth being smooth and devoid of sharp corners.

4. An article of manufacture comprising a binder for insertion into a stack of sheets provided with aligned perforations along one of their edges, said binder being of plastic resilient material preformed to substantially the ultimate shape it is to have after complete insertion into the stack and including a back and a plurality of teeth integral with the back and extending from one longitudinal edge thereof, said teeth beto pass through the aligned perforations, the

free end of each tooth extending beyond the back and in contact witih the adjacent part of the loop along the same curvature as the rest of the tooth and exerting a spring pressure against the part of the loop overlapped thereby to prevent accidental withdrawal of pages bound by the binder, each loop extending through an arc greater than 360, said back projecting outwardly of the loops at a sharp angle to the loops so as to lie out of the loops and in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of an adjacent sheet. v

5. An article of manufacture comprising a binder for insertion into a stack of sheets provided with aligned perforations along one of their edges, said binder being of plastic resilient material preformed to substantially the ultimate shape it is to have after complete insertion into the stack and including a back and a plurality of teeth integral with the back and extending fromone longitudinal edge thereof, said teeth 360, said back projecting from the loops at a being curved to constitute a plurality 01' loops adapted to be flexed out of their normal positions an amount suificient for receiving the stack of sheets between the ends of th open loops and automatically recurled under their own resiliency to pass through the aligned perforations, the free end of each tooth extending beyond the back and in contact with the adjacent part of the loop' along the same curvature as the rest of the .tooth and exerting a spring pressure against the part of the loop overlapped'thereby to prevent accidental withdrawal of pages bound by the binder,

each loop extending through an arc greater than sharp angle to the'loops so as to lie in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of an adjacent sheet.

ISIDORE SPINNER. 

